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Couple's online gaming causes infant's death

Old 06-21-05, 11:38 AM
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Couple's online gaming causes infant's death

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06...s_6127866.html

Korean press picks up tale of tragedy when couple plays World of Warcraft to excess, infant perishes from neglect.

In a story out of Korea which is just now surfacing in the Western press, a couple in Incheon, South Korea, were arrested last week when their four-month-old daughter died after being left alone by the couple for hours. The mother and father reportedly had gone to a nearby Internet cafe, lost themselves in playing Blizzard's massively multiplayer online PC game World of Warcraft, and returned to their home only to find the infant dead from suffocation. "We booked the pair on criminal charges, judging that when you consider the situation, they were responsible for their daughter's death," a policeman told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. The couple reportedly told police, "We were thinking of playing for just an hour or two and returning home like usual, but the game took longer that day." The infant was the couple's only child.


By Staff -- GameSpot
POSTED: 06/20/05 06:42 PM PST


This is just so sad!

I wonder why they couldn't be playing at home?

Chris
Old 06-21-05, 11:40 AM
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I know what it's like to be addicted to online games,but there is no excuse for that.It's just f'n rediculous.
Old 06-21-05, 11:42 AM
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The online gaming just sounds kind of incidental... the main question is wtf were they thinking leaving a 4 month old baby alone in the house for ANY length of time
Old 06-21-05, 11:45 AM
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As I have a 5 month old I can only say WTF!!! I recently got into WoW myself and there is absolutely no way that I would rather be playing that game than taking care of my daughter.
Old 06-21-05, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by mrpayroll
I wonder why they couldn't be playing at home?
The interesting thing about Korea is that while PC gaming is insanely popular (the best players are celebrities over there), PC ownership is not. So most people play their games at Internet Cafes.

There have been all kinds of crazy Internet Cafe stories from over there, this is just the latest (and most tragic). People die after playing for days on end without rest (or going to the bathroom), that sort of thing.
Old 06-21-05, 12:05 PM
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Interesting!

Chris
Old 06-21-05, 12:25 PM
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there are nuts everywhere. i certainly don't compare my WoW playing w/ the actions of the few nuts that do something like this.

wasn't there a case recently about a stay-at-home dad who was convicted for a similar crime? i think it was xbox related though... i'll do a search.

--
can't find it (although, didn't look too hard). here's sort of a similar story. staying at home doesn't help if you still don't pay attention.
http://www.bloggingbaby.com/entry/1234000533042965/

always keep an eye out on kids/babies.

Last edited by young; 06-21-05 at 12:30 PM.
Old 06-21-05, 12:41 PM
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Geez, I can't even leave my dog home alone for that long... that's awful.
Old 06-21-05, 02:15 PM
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Couldn't they have taken turns going to the cafe. I agree WOW isn't the issue, it's that these people didn't know you can't leave an infant by itself.
Old 06-21-05, 03:28 PM
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Originally Posted by nemein
The online gaming just sounds kind of incidental... the main question is wtf were they thinking leaving a 4 month old baby alone in the house for ANY length of time
I agree. I think if this couple was willing to leave their child at home alone, they could of possibly done it for any reason, not just online gaming.
Old 06-21-05, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by outer-edge
I agree. I think if this couple was willing to leave their child at home alone, they could of possibly done it for any reason, not just online gaming.
Video games are a hot button topic though. We would have never seen or heard a blip about this story if it was just to idiot parents that left their child at home for a few hours. Sensationalism at its finest.
Old 06-21-05, 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
Video games are a hot button topic though. We would have never seen or heard a blip about this story if it was just to idiot parents that left their child at home for a few hours. Sensationalism at its finest.
bingo
Old 06-21-05, 06:39 PM
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Two people put their kid down to sleep thinking to get in some WOW together for about hour. Suddenly one hour turns to four they rush home and find the kid dead. Hell the kid could have died while they were sleeping or making dinner. The death was by suffocation so they wouldn't have heard anything even if they were home.

I'm not saying they were not wrong because it is nuts to leave your kid alone that long but I bet that wasn't normal thing for them.
Old 06-21-05, 06:47 PM
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Naw, it's just another story of a young couple who has a baby (probably not planned), who resent that their little baby is taking too much of their 'free time' and neglecting their kid.

It doesn't matter what country you're talking about, it's just a sign of the times. People having kids, resenting their lost freedom and not spending enough time with their kids as they grow up. These kids grow up, not having a good relationship with their parents and do the same thing as their parents did.

http://www.ferrago.com/story/6121

Yet more troubles in an MMOG-obsessed nation today as it is revealed a South Korean couple allow their baby to die, after the child was left alone for five hours while the parents went to a PC Baang (internet cafe to play World of Warcraft. "We were thinking of playing for just an hour or two and returning home like usual, but the game took longer that day," the parents confessed, after being arrested on criminal charges. The baby was just four-months old when left alone, and died of suffocation when she rolled onto her stomach.

South Korean authorities have already said that the parents will be made to defend this apparent case of outrageous neglect in court. "It's unfortunate, because the tragedy could have been averted if the couple had just left their daughter with Yu's mother-in-law, who lived upstairs from them," said the police. "We booked the pair on criminal charges, judging that when you consider the situation, they were responsible for their daughter's death."

This isn't the first time that gaming addictions have resulted in tragedy, certainly not in South Korea - where games playing comprises one of the nation's staple hobbies - but this perhaps does represent a new low.

By Luke Guttridge, on 20th Jun 2005.


Chris
Old 06-21-05, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
Video games are a hot button topic though. We would have never seen or heard a blip about this story if it was just to idiot parents that left their child at home for a few hours. Sensationalism at its finest.
I don't think it's just that games are a hot button issue. i.e. this isn't somthing like a kid shooting someone and the media blaming it on GTA.

It's just the fact that they left the baby to play a freaking MMORPG makes the story unique and more newsworthy.

Anyway, truly sad and pathetic. I roll my eyes at people that get addicted to stupid MMORPGs to begin with, but to be addicted to that extent just makes me sick.

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